Bacteria-mediated RNAi for managing fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea: Screening target genes and analyzing lethal effect.

The vATPase A and Rop genes are two highly effective RNAi-mediated lethal genes in H. cunea that regulate insect growth via multiple metabolic pathways. Oral delivery of bacterially expressed dsRNA specific to vATPase A and Rop can potentially be used for RNAi-based H. cunea management. This is the first study to apply bacteria-mediated RNAi for the control of this invasive pest, which is a major step forward in the application of the RNAi technology in H. cunea. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.